Why it works: Raisin and flour match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,075 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Mince Pie
Ingredients
Directions
Sweeten to the taste.
Put your bottom crust into the pan.
Sprinkle one large teaspoon of flour over the crust.
Add one large coffee-cup of sugar, one very large teaspoon of cinnamon, one tablespoon of butter cut in pieces, two tablespoons of molasses, and enough water to wet the sugar.
Bake with or without top crust as you prefer.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Beef | 100g cooked | 250 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Grape | 1/2 cup (76g) | 62 |
| Molasses | 1 tbsp (20g) | 58 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Cinnamon | 1 tsp ground (2.6g) | 6 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Cider | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Cider + vinegartop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,431 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).
-
Currant + cidertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together500 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
-
Raisin + curranttop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,180 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Sprinkled over the bottom crust, it helps thicken the filling as it bakes.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and helps it caramelise slightly as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat that gives the filling a softer, rounder mouthfeel.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, deep sweetness and a darker colour to the filling.
- Cinnamon
- Adds warm, aromatic spice flavour to the filling.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, raisin, cider, butter, molasses, vinegar, flour):
- Figfits better
- Applefits better
- Currantthe original
- Plumfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, raisin, cider, butter, molasses, vinegar, flour. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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